Voters are heading to the polls today to select council members for four seats on the 15-member LA City Council, with seven of the eigh candidates combined in districts 5, 11, 13 and 15 being new faces.
Councilman Mitch O’Farrell is the lone incumbents, as he seeks to retain his District 13 seat.
The polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The initial round of results, composed entirely of vote-by-mail ballots that arrived before Election Day, is expected shortly after. The Los Angeles County registrar’s office will periodically update the results — first with ballots cast at Vote Centers before Tuesday, followed by those cast on Election Day — throughout the night.
Below are the eight candidates for the four Los Angeles City Council seats. Check back here after the polls close to see how the race is shaking out.
Runoff for L.A.’s Westside District 5 is between Katy Young Yaroslavsky and Sam Yebri. (Courtesy Photos)
City Council District 5
Katy Young Yaroslavsky faces Sam Yebri in a Westside district of wealthy and working-class neighborhoods that meanders from Bel Air to Palms, Pico-Robertson, Greater Wilshire and Mid-City West. The seat is open due to the departure of City Councilman Paul Koretz who is running for L.A. City Controller.
Yaroslavsky took a leave of absence from L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s office in September 2021 to campaign after years working for Kuehl as senior policy director for the environment and the arts.
Yebri, a nonprofit director and business owner, served on the city’s Gun Violence Prevention Task Force in 2013, chaired his neighborhood’s public safety committee and was a board member of the Anti-Defamation League.
Major differences between them include their approaches to public safety, the homeless and affordable housing. In the June primary, Yaroslavsky got 47.43%, shy of the 50% needed to win outright, followed by Yebri with 31.78%.
Los Angeles City Council runoff for Westside District 11 is between Erin Darling and Traci Park. (Courtesy photos)
City Council District 11
Candidates Erin Darling and Traci Park aim to replace Councilmember Mike Bonin, who isn’t seeking reelection. Council District 11 includes Venice, Mar Vista, Westchester, Playa del Rey, Brentwood and the Pacific Palisades and is the wealthiest of the 15 L.A. City Council districts.
The candidates have been slugging it out, each accusing the other of missteps in their legal careers and stark differences in their approaches to homelessness and public safety.
Park said during the campaign, “We cannot and will not criminalize poverty, addiction, or mental health disorders – but we can and must insist upon clean and safe streets, parks and neighborhoods.” Darling is an advocate for the homeless and called for “coordination amongst social service agencies to help transition people from shelters to permanent housing.”
They were separated by just over 3,700 votes in the primary. Darling got 34.67% and Park got 28.97% in a crowded field.
Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, left, and Hugo Soto-Martinez, head to November 2022 runoff in LA City Council District 13. (Courtesy photos)
City Council District 13
Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell faces a challenge from Hugo Soto-Martinez who led him in the June primary.
O’Farrell was elected in 2013 to represent 256,315 residents in a sprawling district that includes Atwater Village, Echo Park, Historic Filipinotown, Hollywood, Little Armenia and Silver Lake.
O’Farrell says voters understand L.A. is at a crossroads as it emerges from the pandemic and grapples with a City Hall racism scandal, homelessness and public safety. He points to his efforts to create affordable housing, reduce homelessness, protect renters and address climate change.
Soto-Martinez has been an organizer with Unite Here Local 11 and has worked on policy issues, pushing for a minimum wage and Airbnb regulations. The son of Mexican immigrants, his plan is to convert empty hotels and retail and office spaces into homeless housing.
Tim McOsker and Danielle Sandoval, candidates for Los Angeles City Council District 15. (Courtesy photos)
City Council District 15
Tim McOsker, a nonprofit director and businessman, and Danielle Sandoval, an entrepreneur and community leader, seek to replace two-term L.A. City Councilman Joe Buscaino. Buscaino unsuccessfully ran for mayor in the June primary, but in doing so had to forfeit his right to run for a third term on the city council.
McOsker has a background in local government as top aide to Los Angeles City Attorney James Hahn from 1997 to 2001, and then as Hahn’s chief of staff. Before that McOsker served as a city attorney to various Southern California jurisdictions.
Sandoval, a former restaurant owner, was president of the Harbor City Neighborhood Council and worked for 20 years in the hospitality industry, and also was part of a team that launched a firm offering low-cost legal assistance.
McOsker was the top vote-getter in the primary, with 38.7 percent compared to Sandoval’s 28.7 percent, in a crowded field.